Trump: Withdrawing Troops From South Korea Was ‘Never Discussed’ With Kim

In an interview that will air on Fox News Wednesday evening, President Donald Trump claimed that he didn’t bring up the notion of withdrawing the military from South Korea during his meeting with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. Anchor Bret Baier, who finally got an interview with the president after being shut out for nearly 600 days, noted that Trump had brought this up during his post-summit presser.

“Is the military drawing down in South Korea?” Baier asked. “You kind of hinted at that, and is there going to be this kind of tit for tat?”

“No, it is not drawing down at all,” the president responded. “In fact, honestly, it was never discussed. I am sure he would like that. It was never on the table.”

He continued, “We sort of understood that was never on the table. With that being understood and, you know, you asked me a question like that. I would love to get the military out as soon as we can because it costs a lot of money and a lot of money for us.”

The president has stated that he will suspend military exercises with South Korea for the time being, something that reportedly came as a shock to the South Korean government. Trump has also taken on criticism for parroting North Korea’s rhetoric regarding the exercises, calling them “war games” and “provocative.”

Justin Baragona is the founder and publisher of Contemptor. He was previously the Cable News Correspondent for Mediaite and prior to starting Contemptor, he worked on the editorial staff of PoliticusUSA. During that time, he had his work quoted by USA Today and BBC News, among others. Justin began his published career as a political writer for 411Mania. He resides in St. Louis, MO with his wife and pets.